US markets end higher on Thursday

19 May 2023 Evaluate

Extending previous session’s gains, the US markets ended higher on Thursday as traders continue to take support report that optimism lawmakers will eventually reach an agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling. Following a meeting earlier in the week, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., both expressed optimism a deal will be reached. Market participants also reacted positively to quarterly results from Walmart (WMT), with the retail giant climbing by 1.3 percent. The advance by Walmart came after the company reported better than expected first quarter results and raised its full-year guidance. On the economic data front, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell by more than expected in the week ended May 13th. The report said initial jobless claims slid to 242,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 264,000. Street had expected jobless claims to dip to 254,000. The bigger than expected drop came after jobless claims reached their highest level since the week ended October 30, 2021 in the previous week.

A separate report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia showed a continued contraction in regional manufacturing in the month of May, although the pace of contraction slowed by more than expected. The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current activity surged to a negative 10.4 in May from a negative 31.3 in April. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) also released a report unexpectedly showing a steep drop in U.S. existing home sales in the month of April. NAR said existing home sales plunged by 3.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.28 million in April after tumbling by 2.6 percent to a revised rate of 4.43 million in March. The extended pullback surprised street, who had expected existing home sales to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 2.4 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 115.14 points or 0.34 percent to 33,535.91, Nasdaq added 188.27 points or 1.51 percent to 12,688.84 and S&P 500 was up by 39.28 points or 0.94 percent to 4,198.05.

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